The second leg of Sustainable Seas Expeditions was
set to investigate Cordell Bank National Marine
Sanctuary. High northwest winds and eight to ten
foot swell prohibited dive operations at the Bank.
Fourteen dives were completed at the contingency
site in Drakes Bay with operations designed to
increase pilot proficiency. Navigation exercises
and dives using the tracking system, submersible
sonar, cameras, and other auxiliary equipment
helped DeepWorker pilots increase operational
proficiency. Additionally, the operations in
Drake's Bay provided an opprotunity for planning a
complex operation using two submersibles, a
remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and two scuba
divers, with a complex series of tasks. Such
multi-vehicle operations will prove useful in the
future for assessing any influences of DeepWorker,
scuba divers, and the ROV on fish and
invertebrates.

Night-time
operations included plankton tows. Plankton nets
were deployed at night whenever possible to make
use of every precious moment of ship time. Data
gathered from these nets will contribute to a
long-term ecosystem dynamics study being conducted
by the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones
National Marine Sanctuaries.

The
Cordell Bank Expeditions wrapped up with a
Sanctuaries Fair and Open House on the NOAA vessel
McArthur. Dan Howard, the mission
coordinator participated in the second NASA
sponsored Web chat focusing on sanctuaries and
Cordell Bank.